Mammoliti to be turfed from city council?

The city's compliance audit committee has unanimously recommended pursuing legal proceedings against councillor Giorgio Mammoliti after a forensic audit of his election finances found his campaign overspent by $12,065, an apparent contravention of the Municipal Elections Act.

The news comes just days after the same team of auditors found mayor Rob Ford overspent on his election campaign by $40,168.

During discussions today, the audit committee heard how Mammoliti's aborted run for mayor may have confused his election team when it came time to file paperwork. The York West representative switched his focus to a seat on council shortly after the campaign period started in 2010.

The Municipal Elections Act contains strict rules on what a candidate can spend on an election. As a citizen seeking the office of councillor, Mammoliti was restricted to $27,464.65

The overspend identified by Froese Forensic Partners equates to roughly 40 per cent of his total budget and centres on misreported spending on an American Express credit card the team used during the campaign.

Late last month Mammoliti claimed he had been followed and his telephone tapped as part of an ongoing conspiracy against him by former and current staff at city hall. So far there has been no evidence in support of that claim.

The committee's recommendation now lies with a lawyer who will decide whether to push for non-criminal charges against the councillor. If Mammoliti is found in breach of the Municipal Elections Act he could be fined or removed from office.

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Image: Giorgio Mammoliti's Facebook